Better Business Bureau to Promote Trust in México

20 years after NAFTA, BBB Mexico launches to enhance best commercial practices.

Arlington, VA and México City – Better Business Bureau (BBB) is bringing to México its 100+ years of experience in advancing marketplace trust, through Buró de Mejores Practicas Comerciales in Mexico.

Bernardo Altamirano Rodríguez, former Consumer Protection Federal Attorney, is heading up a team of experts in market relationships, competition, regulation and marketplace analysis, and has begun recruiting well-known businesses in México to support the effort to launch this summer.

“Aligning with BBB will help set best practice standards for businesses in Mexico” said Altamirano, who has been working closely with BBB for more than a year on the launch. “That will raise the visibility of Méxican brands and companies with consumers in the U.S. and Canada who are already familiar with the BBB brand and its mission to advance marketplace trust.”

“With the growing power of the Méxican economy, emerging expectations from consumers for quality service, and the 20th anniversary of the North America Free Trade Agreement, the timing couldn’t be better for the establishment of a BBB presence in México,” said Mary E. Power, CAE, president and CEO of the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB). “This effort brings together the three NAFTA countries behind a program to promote a marketplace based on standards of trust, transparency, and responsiveness. We look forward to working with committed business leaders and consumer leaders in México.”

Buró de Mejores Practicas Comerciales S.C. recently signed an agreement with CBBB, the umbrella organization for the BBB system, to begin organizing a BBB. This followed unanimous approval of the new organization’s business plan by the CBBB board of directors in September, when BBB leaders welcomed Altamirano and his team to the International Assembly of BBBs.

The BBB in Mexico will unite the knowledge and experience of the 100-year-old brand with the local expertise of leaders in Mexico to strengthen trust between consumers and businesses. Like the local BBBs in the U.S. and Canada, the new organization will be a private non-profit that will work with business leaders, consumer groups and government officials to develop a business culture based on a commitment to the customer and best practices.

BBB offers services to both businesses and consumers by creating a community of trustworthy businesses through accreditation, setting standards for marketplace trust, encouraging and supporting best practices, celebrating marketplace role models, and denouncing substandard marketplace behavior. BBB also provides extensive information to consumers, and warns about scams and frauds.

“The BBB model encourages all businesses to apply best practice standards, since customer experiences are a significant basis for BBB Business Reviews,” noted Altamirano. “The BBB model encourages all businesses to aspire to satisfy consumers as a key part of the business effort to attract new customers. Over the last 20 years, the Mexican marketplace has made great strides in competitiveness and productivity, but the improvement is not universally evident throughout Mexico. A strong Mexican BBB can be a catalyst to expand and quicken the improvements.”

As a voice for best practices in Mexico, BBB will help consumers understand and hold businesses accountable to those standards. BBB programs and services also help consumers and businesses overcome misunderstandings and find practical solutions to disagreements that otherwise might escalate. On a national level, BBB works closely with business leaders and regulators to develop effective self regulatory solutions that limit the need for or complement government regulation.

The address of the new office is: Camino a Santa Teresa 763 Jardines del Pedregal, Álvaro Obregón, México City, Zip Code 01900. The telephone number is +52-5556527440 and the website is bbb.org/mexico.

The BBB system – with nearly 400,000 accredited businesses, 200 corporate partners, 2000 employees, and more than 10 million instances of service every month – looks forward to a fully operational BBB Mexico, which will put consumers and businesses in Mexico, Canada and the United States on equal footing.